Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The Environmental Protection Agency does not share Holtec International’s position that the company’s plan to release irradiated wastewater from a shuttered Massachusetts nuclear power plant into a nearby bay meets federal regulations, the agency’s water chief told the company in a recent letter. EPA “does not agree” with Holtec’s claim that discharging wastewater from Pilgrim […]

Congress needs to amend federal nuclear waste law, not only allow the government to build an interim storage facility for spent fuel, but also to allow private companies to develop spent fuel reprocessing technologies, the CEO of such a company told Exchange Monitor Wednesday. “Congress is in the key role right now, because the Nuclear […]

The Department of Defense has created an Atomic Veterans Commemorative Service Medal, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. Those eligible include military veterans who participated in atomic tests and cleanups, and those exposed to ionizing radiation from the bombs that destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the department wrote in a […]

A Honeywell-owned prime contractor for Sandia National Laboratories said in a Tuesday filing a wrongful firing suit brought against it by a scientist who worked on data for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant should remain in federal court. National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia said the wrongful termination suit brought by […]

The Department of Energy has taken care of seven of 25 priority issues identified by the Government Accountability Office in 2021 and should get to work on the rest, Congress’ investigative arm wrote in a letter to the agency. “We are also adding eight new recommendations related to project, program, and portfolio management; contract management; […]

The Department of Energy could start a federal readiness assessment sometime this month at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory facilities in California that prepare transuranic waste for shipment to the agency’s underground disposal site in New Mexico, according to a government safety board. On May 31, 2022, the lab began the contractor readiness assessment for restarting […]

New Mexico and the federal government this week asked a federal magistrate to give them until Oct. 3 to resolve litigation about the 2016 consent order governing legacy nuclear-weapons cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Department of Energy, and the attorney general’s office for New Mexico […]

Nevada’s congressional delegation wants to codify the consent-based siting of future nuclear waste repositories, an amendment filed for the House’s 2023 National Defense Authorization Act shows. If the House adopts Rep. Dina Titus’ (D-Nev.) amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the law would prohibit the Department of Energy from unilaterally using cash […]

Several nuclear weapons issues, touching on life extension programs, research prohibitions and more, could come up for debate on the House floor next week when lawmakers return to Washington. After a week at home for Independence Day, lawmakers were set to resume floor votes on July 12, according to the majority leader’s calendar. Looming large […]

With local data suggesting rising COVID-19 infection risks, the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are reinstating some stricter masking and testing requirements. While masks are still optional for employees at Hanford, some workers take a COVID-19 test when they come onsite, according to […]

Halfway through the fiscal year, the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site appears on pace to dispose of more radioactive and classified waste than during fiscal 2021, according to the latest quarterly report from the site. During the second quarter of the fiscal year, which ended March 31, the site disposed of 154,000 cubic […]

United States consumption of electricity produced by nuclear power plants last year hit its lowest point in nearly a decade, the government’s independent energy auditor said last week. According to a report published Friday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),  electricity consumption in 2021 from nuclear power decreased to around 8.12 quadrillion British Thermal […]

Two of the newest additions to Holtec International’s inventory of former nuclear power plant sites could be good candidates for a future advanced reactor facility, the company said last week. Among the viable proposals for repurposing Michigan’s Palisades and Big Rock Point plants is a plan to build SMR-160 small modular reactors (SMRs) at both […]

Maryland-based Amentum, a leading government contractor for the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense, announced the addition of two new senior managers June 30. Amentum, which leads multibillion-dollar joint ventures across the DOE weapons complex, announced the personnel additions in a June 30 press release. Sean Mullen was appointed executive vice president for […]

The House Appropriations Committee, which last week advanced a spending bill with about $7.9-billion in fiscal 2023 funds for the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office, is still concerned about long-term remediation costs of the Hanford Site in Washington state. House appropriators remain antsy about the money and time needed to fully clean up the […]

Mid-America Conversion Services, the Atkins-led incumbent running the Department of Energy’s depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion program, employs a workforce of more than 400 in Kentucky and Ohio, according to procurement information recently posted online. As of June 1 Mid-America has 200 employees at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, 119 union members and the rest salaried, […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week: 05: Congress remains in recess this week following the Independence Day holiday. Regular sessions are scheduled to resume next week.  07: The Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant plan a community […]

The Department of Energy this week solicited bids for a potentially 10-year contract to produce high assay low-enriched uranium fuel using a centrifuge cascade Centrus Energy Corp. built at the Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio. Bids for the The High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Demonstration Cascade Completion contract are due Aug. 8. The contract […]

After the Supreme Court vacated a Washington state law aimed at making it easier for workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site to claim compensation for job-related illnesses, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Congress must pass her Toxic Exposure Safety Act. The high court, an independent branch of the federal government, unanimously ruled last […]

The utility in charge of California’s last operating nuclear power plant on Tuesday changed its tune about the facility’s planned closure, asking the Department of Energy for extra time to apply for a federal bailout to keep it online. Diablo Canyon Power Plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) “appreciates the Department of Energy’s efforts […]

Professional Project Services or Pro2Serve, appointed Sherry Browder as president and chief executive officer, the Tennessee-based Department of Energy contractor said Wednesday  In her new role, Browder, who last October was selected as the company’s president and chief operating officer, will be responsible for managing Pro2Serve’s offices, subsidiaries, contracts and staff nationwide, according to a […]

While changes in a legally-binding consent decree allow the Department of Energy more time to start turning low-level radioactive tank waste into glass at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the agency’s goal is still to start the work by the end of 2023, the top fed at the property said Wednesday. While DOE has […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Wednesday freshened its records to reflect EnergySolutions as the new owner of a Wisconsin nuclear power plant after the company earlier this week finalized its purchase of the site, agency documents show. Kewaunee Power Station’s operating license now shows EnergySolutions as the plant’s owner, NRC told the company in a letter […]

After a three-judge panel earlier this year ruled in favor of the Joe Biden administration’s executive order requiring virtually all federal employees be vaccinated against COVID-19, the entire Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to rehear the case. In a two-page order published Monday, the 5th Circuit said it has agreed to grant […]

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), a candidate for the U.S. Senate, used a House Appropriation Committee markup Tuesday on a Department of Energy fiscal 2023 budget proposal to discuss health concerns and hopes for economic development at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. During the vote approving the Energy and Water Development subcommittee’s nearly $7.9-billion budget for […]

The House Appropriations on Tuesday approved a 2023 spending bill that included roughly the requested funding for Department of Energy nuclear weapons programs, one of which should get almost double the funding it will receive under the bill, a Republican Congressman said. The 2023 energy and water development appropriations act should be “[r]aising the amount […]